WELLAND, Ont. - The 2023 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Basketball Championship concluded Sunday at Niagara College's Welland Campus Athletic Centre, with the Humber Hawks (15-1, 1st West) being crowned provincial champions in a 66-62 overtime victory versus the Lambton Lions (13-3, 2nd West).
In front of a jam-packed crowd in Welland, the Lions were able to feed off the energy of their traveling fans and open the game with a 7-2 run with four early points by Lambton's semifinal Player of the Game Claire Dechet. The Lions improved greatly from their semifinal shooting woes hitting 50 per cent of their first quarter field goal attempts for 19 points, taking a 19-10 lead into the second quarter.
The Lions were the best defensive team in the West in the regular season and showed why again in the first quarter limiting Humber's looks inside the paint, while they struggled to connect from deep, going 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Humber broke out in the second quarter going on their own scoring run to bring the game within one with over half of the quarter left to play. The second quarter was a chess match with each team having a response to every basket made. After several lead changes both teams headed to the locker rooms honours even, 33-33 leaving it all to play for in second half.
CCAA All-Canadian Kia Watt was crucial in bringing the Hawks back into the game recording seven points, eight rebounds, and two assists in the first half. Coming out of the half time break the Lions were able to keep the Hawks relatively quiet again from the field holding them to only two made fields goals through the first half of the third quarter, building a six-point lead 43-37. Despite the Lions success to start the third, the Hawks were able to fight back through the fifth-year guard Brittney English's 12 third quarter points to draw again 47-47 going into the final quarter of the game.
With all the marbles up for grabs the cagey final quarter saw both teams going shot for shot with the Lions holding a slim one-point lead 54-53 with just over four minutes left to play. Again, in the fourth just like the third, English took over the game for the Hawks hitting two clutch three pointers in fourth with the second giving the Hawks a 56-54 lead with three minutes to play. The Lions were once again able to find some clutch baskets from OCAA West Division First Team All-Star Breanna Pretty and second-year guard Emily Van Hooft to take a two-point lead, the Hawks found an answer to tie the game once again 58-58 with a minute left to play. With possession of the ball and only 10 seconds on the clock, the Hawks found Watt who with 1.2 seconds left caused an offensive foul, giving the Lions one shot to win the championship. Off the Lion's inbound play, they found OCAA West Division Second Team All-Star Maddy Bishop, who missed a contested three to end regular time 58-58.
After four quarters of hard-fought basketball no winner could be decided, and the game was sent to overtime. After taking a three-point advantage through a successful and one basket from Nicole Chateau the Hawks were able to seal a 66-62 victory through a Watt lay-up with six seconds left on the clock to win back-to-back OCAA women's basketball championships. Kala Wagg was named Lambton's Player of the Game with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while English was named Player of the Game for the Hawks with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. Pretty of the Lambton Lions was named an OCAA Championship All-Star, as well as English and Kayah Clarke for the Hawks for their outstanding performances throughout the weekend. Humber guard Watt was named the OCAA Championship MVP.
BRONZE MEDAL GAME
The third-place game featured the Fanshawe Falcons (10-6, 3rd West) vs. the Algonquin Wolves (14-0, 1st East). A day removed from heartbreak, both teams battled hard in a spirited contest that went down to the wire. In the end, Algonquin prevailed 56-52 to take home the bronze medal.
Neither team held back, as defence forced a frantic early pace. Fanshawe's full-court pressure and Algonquin's on the ball tenacity made it difficult to set up offence. Both teams relied on transition to score baskets. Jessica Jordan continued her outstanding tournament play with seven first-quarter points to lead Fanshawe to a 16-12 advantage after one. Fanshawe kept their intensity throughout the half causing 14 turnovers and disrupting Algonquin's attack, but late in the second-quarter Wolves guards Dasia McDonald and Sydney Moore solved the maze making the Falcons pay for their aggressive style. Algonquin went on a 10-2 run to go ahead 25-23 with 2:18 left. The Falcons battled back in the final minutes to regain the lead 27-25 at the break. Jordan and McDonald each scored eight first-half points to lead their teams.
Fanshawe tried for the knockout early in the third, scoring the first six points out of the locker room to extend their lead to eight, but Moore stopped the streak with a deep three-pointer from the corner to keep the Wolves close. The game went back and forth for much of the frame. Third-year guard Taya Spears hit back-to-back buckets to give the Falcons a five-point cushion with just over two minutes remaining, but Moore answered again for the Wolves with a bomb from outside to tie the game at 41-41 with a minute left in the quarter. McDonald added a free throw at the end of the third to put Algonquin up 42-41.
The final quarter played out much the same way as the rest of the contest with both teams clamping down on defence. The game was decided in the waning moments. Jordan's free throw with just over two minutes left tied the game 48-48. Then McDonald took over. The Nepean, Ont., native hit a layup to put the Wolves back on top, stole the ball on the next possession, and hit two free throws from the resulting foul. McDonald iced the game down the stretch going 6-of-6 from the line and sealing the 56-52 victory for Algonquin.
Moore's clutch shooting and staunch defence earned her Player of the Game for Algonquin. Sydney Kendellen received top honours for Fanshawe putting together an impressive stat line including nine points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Algonquin's CCAA All-Canadian McDonald was named an OCAA Championship All-Star for her strong performance throughout the weekend.
All news, stats and results can be found on the 2023 OCAA Championship website: www.ocaa.com/wbb.
Source: Niagara Knights
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wbb
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Friday, March 3
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Humber def. Conestoga 60-56
Game #2: Fanshawe def. Redeemer 62-52
Game #3: Algonquin def. Niagara 63-53
Game #4: Lambton def. St. Clair 67-56
Saturday, March 4
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Humber def. Fanshawe 67-58
Game #6: Lambton def. Algonquin 53-38
Sunday, March 5
Bronze Medal Game
Algonquin def. Fanshawe 56-52
Gold Medal Game
Humber def. Lambton 66-62 (OT)
- OCAA -
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